Apparatus and Method for reducing surface tension in oxygenated water

ABSTRACT

Apparatus and method are disclosed for the invention of a non-chemical means to lower the surface tension of a solution of liquid water and gaseous oxygen. An apparatus of the present invention comprises a source of chilled purified water, and gaseous oxygen fed into a positive displacement pump, followed by a cylinder reduced at one end by means of a convergent cone, a section of a smaller diameter cylinder attached to a divergent cone tapering up to another cylinder of a diameter the same or larger than the original cylinder. A coil of refrigeration tubing is wrapped around the smaller center cylinder to control the temperature of the inner cylinder surface. 
     Although the preferred embodiment of this invention is to produce a dissolved oxygen solution for use in humans as a means of delivering oxygen to the portal vein system for treatment of various disorders, it is in no way limited to this particular application. Other medical and non-medical uses are being investigated for further development by the inventor.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

There are many patents relating to the dissolving of gases into water such as carbonation of beverages, oxygenating for treatment of wastewater and other purposes. None of these address the phenomenon of the surface tension of water. The applications cited mainly address the various methods for increasing the saturation of the gases with no regard for how the surface tension of the water affects the performance of the intended solution. Surfactant chemicals are typically used for reducing surface tension in solutions. These chemicals are not satisfactory for use in human ingestion. This invention is designed to reduce surface tension in water by non-chemical means for safe use in humans.

The method of Keirn (U.S. Pat. No. 6,530,895) has a series of chambers under pressure that add gaseous oxygen to fluid; the pressure increase and the chambers in series are used to increase dissolution. U.S. Pat. No. 6,962,654 (issued to Arnaud) uses a radially grooved ring to break a stream of fluid into smaller streams; gas is introduced into the streams and mixing is used to increase dissolution. Speece (see U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,643,403; 6,474,627; 6,485,003; 6,848,258) proposes use of head pressure to introduce liquid under pressure into a conical chamber; the downward flow of the fluid is matched in velocity to the upward flow of gas bubbles to increase dissolution time. Littman et al. (U.S. Pat. No. 6,279,882) uses similar technology to Speece except that the upward flowing bubble size is decreased with a shockwave. Roberts, Jr. et al. (U.S. Pat. No. 4,317,731) propose turbulent mixing in an upper chamber to mix gas with a bulk fluid; a quiescent lower chamber allows undissolved gas to rise back into the upper chamber for remixing. The following U.S. patents use various methods to increase the contact time between gas bubbles in fluids: U.S. Pat. No. 5,275,742 (Satchell Jr. et al.); U.S. Pat. No. 5,451,349 (Kingsley); U.S. Pat. No. 5,865,995 (Nelson); U.S. Pat. No. 6,076,808 (Porter); U.S. Pat. No. 6,090,294 (Teran et al.); U.S. Pat. No. 6,503,403 (Green et al.); U.S. Pat. No. 6,840,983 (McNulty).

An object of the present invention is to effectively reduce the surface tension of oxygenated water, without using chemicals, in order for the oxygen to be more easily absorbed into the bloodstream via the gastrointestinal system.

US Patents Class searched: 261/28, 37, 77, cited 78.2, 115, 119.1, 122.1, 124 8,276,888 Osborn, et al 5,979,363 Schaar 5,911,870 Hough 5,904,851 Taylor, et al 5,888,467 Zelenack, et al 4,501,664 Heil, et al 5,766,484 Petit, et al

TEST EXAMPLE CUSTOMER

The surface tension of a solution of purified water and oxygen, containing 35 milligrams per liter of oxygen at a temperature of 40 degrees F. was measured using a Sensa-Dyne model QC 3000 tensiometer. The surface tension of the solution before processing was measured at 72.6 dynes per centimeter (plain water was 72.9 dynes/cm). The solution was then passed through the apparatus of the present invention and then measured again. The processed solution measured 58.32 dynes/cm, a reduction in surface tension of 20 percent. Several repetitions of this process were done at different dissolved oxygen levels and each case returned approximately a 20 percent reduction in surface tension.

REFERENCES

-   -   1. {umlaut over ( )} West, John B. (1994). Respiratory         physiology—the essentials. Baltimore: Williams & Wilkins. ISBN         0-683-08937-4.     -   2. {umlaut over ( )} Wright J R. Host defense functions of         pulmonary surfactant. Biol Neonate. 2004;85(4):326-32. Epub 2004         Jun 8.     -   3. {umlaut over ( )} Hills, Brian A. (Nov 1999). “An alternative         view of the role(s) of surfactant and the alveolar model”.         Journal of Applied Physiology 87 (5): 1567-1583. PMID 10562593.     -   4. {umlaut over ( )} ^(a b) Samuel Schurch, Hans Bachofenb, Fred         Possmayer (Nov 1992). “Pulmonary surfactant: Surface properties         and function of alveolar and airway surfactant”. Pure and         Applied Chemistry 64 (11): 1745-1750.         doi:10.1351/pac199264111745.     -   5. {umlaut over ( )} ^(a b) Fred Possmayer, Kaushik Naga, Karina         Rodrigueza, Riad Qanbarb, Samuel Schürch (May 2001). “Surface         activity in situ, in vivo, and in the captive bubble         surfactometer”. Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology—Part A:         Molecular & Integrative Physiology 129 (1): 209-220.         doi:10.1016/S1095-6433(01)00317-8.     -   6. {umlaut over ( )} ^(a b) Veldhuizena, Ruud; Nagb, Kaushik;         Orgeigc, Sandra; Possmayer, Fred (Nov 1998). “The role of lipids         in pulmonary surfactant”. Biochimica et Biophysica Acta         (BBA)—Molecular Basis of Disease 1408 (2-3): 90-108.         doi:10.1016/S0925-4439(98)00061-1.     -   7. {umlaut over ( )} ^(a b) Samuel Schürch, Hans Bachofenb, Fred         Possmayer (May 2001). “Surface activity in situ, in vivo, and in         the captive bubble surfactometer”. Comparative Biochemistry and         Physiology—Part A: Molecular & Integrative Physiology 129 (1):         195-207. doi:10.1016/S1095-6433(01)00316-6.     -   8. {umlaut over ( )} H W Taeush (2002 Oct). “Improving Pulmonary         Surfactants”. Acta Pharmacologica Sinica Supplement: 11-15.     -   9. {umlaut over ( )} A         http://ajplung.physiology.org/content/290/2/L334.full

SPECIFICATION

The purpose of the invention is to provide a non-chemical means of reducing the surface tension of a water/oxygen solution for ingestion by humans to increase their arterial oxygen saturation via the gastrointestinal system. A unique combination of physical and thermal dynamic forces is employed to reduce the effect of hydrogen bonding between water molecules thereby lowering the surface tension of the water. This is accomplished by infusing oxygen gas into pre-chilled purified water then pumping it under pressure through a device containing a straight cylinder followed by a convergent cone with a smaller cylinder at its outlet connected to a divergent cone of equal dimensions. The smaller cylinder has two functions. It increases the velocity of the flow and is wrapped with a refrigeration coil that enables it to lower the temperature of the laminar portion of the stream below the normal freezing point of 0 degrees Centigrade. The increased flow rate prevents ice from forming on the inside of the cylinder. When the solution exits the small diameter section some hexagonal phase ice crystals form as the flow slows down and the pressure decreases. As these ice crystals absorb heat energy from the surrounding water they begin to melt. Ice melting in this way has to break the hydrogen bonds to transition from the solid phase to the liquid phase (the energy absorbed to make this happen is equal to raising the equivalent mass of water by 80 degrees centigrade. This is called the “heat of fusion”) the action of the partial freezing and melting of the solution passing through the solid/liquid phase lowers the overall surface tension of the water surrounding the oxygen by weakening and breaking the hydrogen bonds. Whenever one hydrogen bond between water molecules is broken, two more tend to also be broken. Hexagonal ice formations contain many hydrogen bonds (each of the ice crystals formed in this process contain many hydrogen bonds that must be broken in order to transition from the solid to the liquid phase) for each of these bonds that break, two bonds between the remaining water molecules are also broken which accounts for the effect of reducing the surface tension of the entire oxygen/water solution.

The value of reducing the surface tension in this application is that the oxygen dissolved within the water becomes more easily released from the solution when it is ingested. The air we breathe has oxygen trapped within water vapor. In order for the oxygen to escape from the surrounding water molecules (held together by surface tension) the surface tension of the water must be reduced so that the partial pressure of the oxygen (pO2) is greater than the surface tension of the water that has now coated the lung tissue (alveoli). The body accomplishes this by secreting pulmonary surfactant, a substance that lowers the surface tension of the water in the same way a detergent lowers the surface tension of laundry water for better wetting and penetration. When we drink water that has dissolved oxygen in it, the surface tension of the water tends to hold the oxygen in solution in much the same way. Reducing the surface tension of the solution by the above method accomplishes the same effect that the pulmonary surfactant does in the lungs making it easier for the oxygen to escape the water and permeate the capillaries of the GI tract. 

What is claimed:
 1. An apparatus for reducing the surface tension of water comprising ⁽¹⁾a pump inlet containing a sparging device like a carbonation stone with micro sized pores, connected to a pressurized oxygen source. ⁽²⁾ a positive displacement pump with a variable speed drive. ⁽³⁾ a cylindrical tube with a convergent cone at the outlet end. ⁽⁴⁾ a cylinder with a refrigeration coil wrapped round its outer circumference. ⁽⁵⁾ a divergent cone connected to a cylindrical tube leading to a tank or bottling device.
 2. The apparatus of claim one wherein the pressure within the first cylinder is produced by the adjustable flow from the pump versus the inside diameter of the second cylinder.
 3. The apparatus of claim one wherein the water temperature within the second cylinder ^(#(4)) is lowered below the normal freezing point of water (32F) by means of the refrigeration coil wrapped around the cylinder.
 4. The apparatus of claim one wherein the increased flow rate through cylinder #4 combined with the increased hydraulic pressure prevents ice from forming on the walls of the cylinder, allowing super cooling of the solution.
 5. The apparatus of claim one wherein the oxygen dissolved in the water contributes to the depression of the freezing point of the solution.
 6. The apparatus of claim one wherein the super cooled water from the laminar layer of the flow where it contacts the refrigerated walls of cylinder #4 exits cylinder #4 and enters the divergent cone ⁽⁵⁾ begins forming ice crystals due to the reduced pressure and flow rate.
 7. The apparatus of claim one wherein the hydrogen bonds of the ice crystals are weakened and broken in order for the ice crystals to transfer from the solid phase to the liquid phase, thus lowering the surface tension of the solution.* Known science states that for each hydrogen bond that breaks two more will be broken. This phenomenon explains how the bonds broken by melting the ice crystals affects the entire solution's surface tension. 